intellectual property and bikes

sky

We’re 14 stages through the 2015 Tour de France! It has been a great race so far. No worries – I have no intention of providing spoilers for those of you who haven’t been able to watch all the stages yet. But, can we predict the GC winner based on the teams’ US trademark portfolios? Not likely, but let’s look anyway.

ASTANA PRO TEAM – Vincenzo Nibali
It doesn’t look good for Nibali. Astana currently has no trademark registrations or applications. Astana is at a bit of a disadvantage being named after the capital of Kazakhstan and sponsored by Samruk-Kazyna, a state-owned company from Kazakhstan.

TEAM SKY – Chris Froome
Being sponsored by a media and telecommunications company, BskyB, helps Froome a bit. I found 5 live registrations and 1 live application for BskyB. For example:

TINKOFF-SAXO – Alberto Contador
Contador is helped out by the support of Saxo Bank, a Danish investment bank. However, Tinkoff Bank doesn’t contribute at all. Saxo Bank has 9 live registrations, including: SAXO for

BMC RACING TEAM – Tejay Van Garderen
Tejay makes a bold move being supported by BMC Switzerland AG, a bicycle and cycling products company, which has 14 live registrations that I found. For “Bicycles and their parts; bicycle frames; bicycle saddles; handle bars for bicycles; bicycle rims; wheels for bicycles”, BMC uses:

MOVISTAR TEAM – Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas
The 2013 TdF challenger Quintana, if trademark portfolios were the determining factor, would ride away with this year’s tour. Supported by Movistar, a Spanish telecommunications company owned by Telefonica, S.A., which owns 46 live registrations and 3 live applications! For example, included in the portfolio is the recognizable M from the Movistar kits: